Chapter 49: The Troll Advances

The moment Sherlock laid eyes on the troll, a string of descriptive text surfaced in his mind:

"Trolls are native to Scandinavia, though they are now also found in Britain, Ireland, and parts of Northern Europe."

"They favor raw meat and are not picky eaters—anything from wildlife to humans. They are particularly fond of fish."

"Highly aggressive and violent by nature, they often attack without provocation."

"Based on appearance and habitat, trolls are typically divided into three types: mountain, forest, and river trolls."

"Mountain trolls are the largest and most dangerous of the three."

Both Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—a first-year required textbook—and The Survival Handbook Sherlock had picked up out of personal interest had sections on trolls.

The former was academic and theoretical.

The latter was written from firsthand experience—no theory, all practice.

And now, Sherlock quickly retrieved those facts from the "memory attic" of his mind.

Unfortunately, the troll currently before him and Hermione was the most troublesome kind:

A mountain troll.

"People have different constitutions. I once defeated a mountain troll using only a longsword while in a state of extreme starvation.

Unfortunately, troll meat is low in protein—less than half that of beef. Even with the head removed, it's still unsuitable for consumption.

My advice to readers: unless absolutely necessary, avoid direct confrontation.

Unless you're a powerful wizard—or happen to have a physique as strong as mine."

After seeing the troll in person, Sherlock found himself deeply agreeing with that author's sentiment.

Without wasting time, he immediately clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth and dragged her out of the girls' bathroom.

Under normal circumstances, Hermione would have fiercely resisted such treatment.

But now, she was too exhausted and hungry—frankly, even her tears had run dry.

So when Sherlock appeared, she simply went along without resistance.

As for the troll, it had stopped by a door, peering inside.

After a long pause, apparently unable to find its target, it finally made a sluggish decision using its tiny brain.

Right before Sherlock and Hermione's eyes, the troll slowly turned and began to lumber away, its flat, calloused feet thudding against the floor.

"Crude acting—but smarter than expected,"

Sherlock muttered to himself, watching its retreating form.

At that moment, Hermione finally began to recover from her state of shock.

She quietly pulled Sherlock's hand away from her mouth, straightened her posture, and smoothed out her clothes.

Hearing what Sherlock had said, she blinked and asked, "What did you say?"

"Someone's coming,"

Sherlock replied, not bothering to repeat himself. Instead, he pointed toward a side corridor and pulled Hermione into hiding again.

Back when she was being dragged along in full panic, she hadn't had time to think. Now that things were calmer, the awkwardness was starting to settle in.

But the next moment, her attention was drawn elsewhere—by a sudden figure that emerged into view.

It was none other than their Potions professor and Head of Slytherin House:

Severus Snape.

She watched him cross the corridor and disappear from sight.

"Professor Snape? What's he doing here alone?

Shouldn't everyone be in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast?"

Hermione glanced at Sherlock, confused.

"And Sherlock—why were you even here looking for me?"

Once back to her normal state, Hermione's keen intellect kicked back in—prompting a flurry of rapid-fire questions.

"Later," Sherlock said simply, brushing off the interrogation for now. His eyes shifted toward the side.

"First, let's call those two over."

"What?"

Hermione hadn't quite processed what he meant.

"Oh, dear Hermione," Sherlock turned to her with a faint smirk in his eyes,

"If you were paying closer attention, you'd have noticed—there are two more people over there."

Following his gesture, Hermione turned to see two heads poking out from behind a large stone statue of a Hippogriff.

And sure enough, one of them was the very culprit who had nearly gotten her killed by a troll—Ron Weasley.

The other, of course, was his best friend, Harry Potter.

The moment Harry and Ron had seen the troll's massive form, they had frozen in place.

Holding their breath, they didn't dare make a sound for fear of being noticed.

When the troll finally moved on, they thought they could breathe again—only to be startled by someone else approaching.

Assuming it was Percy coming to scold them, they hid behind the stone Hippogriff statue—only to see Snape instead.

"Why isn't he with the other professors? What's he doing in the dungeons?"

Harry whispered to Ron.

"How should I know!"

Ron sounded frustrated.

He was, at his core, a good person.

Even if he'd spoken harshly to Hermione earlier, he'd never actually wanted her hurt.

Now, thinking she might've been attacked by a troll because of him, he was both guilty and remorseful.

"He's heading for the fourth floor."

Harry narrowed his eyes.

The fourth floor—that was the area Dumbledore had explicitly forbidden them from entering.

Ron raised his hand to get Harry's attention.

"Harry, we're here to find—"

But before he could finish, a voice cut him off.

"I suggest you not waste your energy worrying about him."

"Sherlock!"

The moment they saw him, Harry's face lit up—he looked overjoyed, like a lost traveler finally spotting a guiding star.

Ron, however, immediately noticed Hermione standing safely by Sherlock's side.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

"Sherlock, you really did come to save her!"

Strangely, seeing Hermione safe and standing beside Sherlock stirred something in Ron's heart.

If only it had been me who saved her…

The thought shocked Ron the moment it crossed his mind.

What the hell—how could I think that?!

The important thing is that Hermione's okay!

Probably just guilt. Yeah, that's it. I just wanted to fix what I messed up.

Ron nodded to himself.

"More or less," Sherlock replied. "I also came to test a hypothesis."

"What kind of hypothesis? Oh—did you see the troll?"

"Of course," Sherlock said, gazing into the distance. His eyes sharpened. He looked to Harry and Ron.

"I'm going to follow it. Are you coming with me?"

"Absolutely!"

Now that Hermione was safe, the others' thirst for adventure came roaring back.

Following a Head of House in secret?

Sounds thrilling!

"'It'? Not 'him'?"

Only Hermione caught the detail in Sherlock's phrasing.

"Well spotted, Hermione," Sherlock said, flashing her a smile. "Yes—it."

That's when Harry and Ron finally realized—

"Wait—we're not following Snape?"

"No," Sherlock said. "We're following the troll."

"What?!"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stared at him in shock.

"Don't look at me like that," Sherlock said evenly.

"If my theory is correct, what comes next is the most important part…

Are you coming or not?"

"Of course we are!"

Even though they didn't fully understand what Sherlock was planning, the trio didn't hesitate to follow him.

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